Europe of Sovereign Nations, or ESN, a right-wing European political party, has come under scrutiny from EU institutions. Members of the European Parliament have voted to initiate a procedure examining whether the party operates in accordance with the European Union’s fundamental values.
The assessment will be conducted by an independent EU authority responsible for registering, supervising and imposing sanctions on European political parties and foundations. Polish MEPs, however, remain divided over the allegations concerning the party’s activities.
“The European Parliament has decided to initiate the procedure under Article 13 of the regulation on European political parties. This procedure examines whether a party’s operations and financing comply with European values,” Michał Wawrykiewicz, a Civic Coalition member of the European Parliament, told the Newseria news agency.
“The allegations concern the promotion of racist and homophobic rhetoric, which is entirely incompatible with the status of a European political party,” he added.
On 7 July 2026, MEPs voted to ask the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations, known as the APPF, to assess whether ESN continues to meet the registration and funding requirements set out in the regulation governing the status and financing of European political parties and foundations.
The APPF had previously informed the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission of facts that raised questions about ESN’s compliance with EU values, as it is legally required to do.
“We have prepared a report of more than 300 pages analysing all forms of conduct that could be taken into account when considering such a request,” Wawrykiewicz said.
“ESN is an organisation that clearly goes beyond the framework established by the European Union. It is an anti-European party that disregards EU values and also enters areas of activity that are prohibited within the European Union.”
ESN Party and Parliamentary Group Are Separate Entities
Europe of Sovereign Nations is a European political party established by national parties whose representatives form the ESN political group in the European Parliament.
The parliamentary group has 27 members, including two MEPs from Poland’s Confederation party: Stanisław Tyszka and Marcin Sypniewski. More than half of its members represent Germany’s Alternative for Germany party, or AfD.
The European Parliament stresses that the political group is legally and operationally separate from the European political party and is governed by different EU rules.
European political parties are regarded as important instruments for developing European political awareness and expressing the political will of EU citizens.
“This request concerns the political party, not the parliamentary group in the European Parliament. Any sanctions affecting ESN’s financing or its ability to operate as a European political party would therefore apply to the party itself, not to the political group in Parliament,” Wawrykiewicz explained.
“The distinction between a political group and a party at European level is similar to the distinction at national level. A party operates outside Parliament according to its own organisational structure. A political group, by contrast, is a parliamentary caucus that represents the party’s interests within the European Parliament and brings together MEPs affiliated with the European political party.”
ESN Could Lose Its Registration and Access to EU Funding
The independent authority will examine whether ESN complies with fundamental EU values, including democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, under the procedure set out in Article 13 of the regulation.
Should the APPF conclude that the party does not respect the European Union’s fundamental values, ESN could be removed from the register of European political parties.
This would result in the loss of its official status and could consequently affect its access to EU funding.
A decision to deregister a political party may take effect provided that neither the European Parliament nor the Council raises an objection within three months.
The vote held by MEPs in July was a procedural step and did not represent the European Parliament’s final position on the substance of the case.
Confederation MEP Calls the Allegations “Fabricated”
“In my view, these allegations are fabricated. Until now, such accusations have often concerned a refusal to implement the European agenda defined by the European Commission in its current left-liberal form,” said Tomasz Buczek, a Confederation MEP and member of the Patriots for Europe group.
“This is an attempt to impose a particular agenda on and break major political groups such as Europe of Sovereign Nations and Patriots for Europe. We do not agree with such a policy. We consider it disgraceful and undemocratic. We remain convinced that we are right and will continue to express our views loudly, regardless of how we may be discriminated against as a result,” he added.
Although Buczek stressed that he disagreed with many of the views expressed by ESN members, he argued that every Eurosceptic party elected in democratic elections should be respected and formally recognised.
“Their financial resources should not be blocked in order to prevent them from operating on equal terms with other parties that are able to draw extensively on public funding for their activities,” Buczek said.
In his view, the procedure is part of a wider campaign against Eurosceptic political forces.
“It appears that the European Union and the European Commission have decided to introduce a kind of inquisition against Eurosceptic parties,” Buczek said.
“This is not an isolated case. We previously saw similar situations involving Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France.”
“Eurosceptic parties are essential because we represent a genuine opposition that criticises, from a completely different political perspective, the policies imposed on us by the European People’s Party together with Renew Europe and often the Socialists and the left,” he continued.
“We do not agree to the continued federalisation of the European Union, its climate policy, decarbonisation and openness to migration. That is why our voice is critical and why we are being opposed so strongly. Our presence is essential to the normal democratic process.”
Support for Eurosceptic Parties Is Rising
Buczek argued that increasingly sceptical assessments of EU policies pursued in recent years, including its response to COVID-19, the European Green Deal, the loss of economic competitiveness and borrowing to finance defence expenditure, are gaining support among European societies.
According to him, this can be seen not only in opinion polls but also in election results.
The latest PopuList study covering 31 countries found that the proportion of Europeans voting for far-right parties and right-wing populists in the most recent national elections had risen to more than 23%. A decade earlier, the figure was approximately 10%, while in 1996 it stood at 6%.
“Support for Eurosceptic parties is growing. This is happening not only in Poland and in countries where Eurosceptic sentiment has intensified considerably in recent years, but also elsewhere,” the Confederation MEP said.
“We can see it in France, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. In my view, this trend is irreversible.”
Wawrykiewicz: Citizens’ Concerns Can Be Addressed Within EU Law
Michał Wawrykiewicz argued, however, that the current parliamentary term demonstrates that citizens’ expectations can be addressed while respecting European values and the law.
“Immigration is one example. Populist parties raise the issue mainly through slogans and the promotion of hatred and European xenophobia,” Wawrykiewicz said.
“Reasonable and democratic parties that respect the European Union’s legal order can address these matters through legislation. Recent examples include the vote on the returns regulation and the entire migration pact,” the Civic Coalition politician added.
He expressed hope that such measures would help reverse the rise of populism.
“The activities of radically anti-European political parties in the European Parliament are intended to implement an anti-European agenda, institutionally destroy the European Union, undermine all its values and, to a large extent, pursue Putin’s agenda,” Wawrykiewicz said.
“The Kremlin’s objective is to destabilise the European Union and dismantle this structure of cooperation between states, which, acting as a whole, represents strength and power and constitutes the largest single market in the world.”
